In more seriously troubling news, there is a serial rapist in my neighborhood.
That is a sentence I never thought I would ever write relating to
myself. I definitely do not live in turtle creek or park cities;
however, the words unsafe, sketchy, poor living conditions are not
associated with my neighborhood, well, until now - Uptown Girls Beware.
Dallas police release sketch of Uptown rapist
10:02 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Dallas police are seeking the public's help in catching a serial rapist thought to be behind three sexual assaults, and possibly a fourth attempt, in Uptown, Oak Lawn and Old East Dallas since December.
Sketch of suspectIn all three rapes – the most recent of which occurred Monday – the man climbed into homes through an unlocked second-floor door or window, police said.
He carried a knife or gun and spoke English and Spanish, saying "no policia," or "no police," in some cases, police said.
"A lot of people who have second- and third-floor windows, they think they're safe," said Lt. Sally Lannom, commander of the assaults unit.
"And my advice to them is you're never safe enough. That's why you need to lock your doors and windows, even if it's not a ground-floor access."
The attacker is described as black or Hispanic, about 30, 5 feet 8 inches and 150 pounds, with a medium, athletic build, police said.
He typically wears gloves, a stocking cap or ball cap, and a white T-shirt and tennis shoes, police said.
Anyone with information can call Dallas police at 214-671-3584.
Police are awaiting the results of forensic testing to positively link the attacks.
The most recent rape occurred about 2:45 a.m. Monday along Cole Avenue, near Hall Street, police said.
A 38-year-old woman woke to find a man squatting next to her bed in her condo, police said.
Armed with a knife, the man jumped onto the woman's bed and sexually assaulted her, police said.
The woman was cut during the attack, police said.
The first sexual assault attributed to the man occurred on Dec. 23.
In that case, a 42-year-old woman was getting ready for bed in her condo in the 4000 block of Bowser Avenue when she found him in her bedroom, police said.
The woman fought him before he pinned her and raped her, police said.
He also took money from her home.
Police say the man struck again about 5:45 a.m. Jan. 5, when a 23-year-old woman awoke and was pepper-sprayed in her condo in the 4700 block of Cedar Springs Road.
The woman fought the man, and he tried to suffocate her.
He then put a sharp object against her neck, raped her and left, police said.
Police believe that an attempted sexual assault April 1 in the 2200 block of North Haskell Avenue in Old East Dallas may be related, but there are differences that made them reluctant to say for sure.
Monday's attack follows the arrest this month of Stanley Vernell Ledbetter Jr., who is suspected in an earlier series of rapes, robberies and burglaries across North Texas.
Authorities say DNA tests have connected him to seven of the 19 cases attributed to the "shotgun bandit."
Mr. Ledbetter, 30, is being held in the Dallas County Jail on two counts of aggravated sexual assault in connection with attacks in Dallas and Irving.
What would the title of your autobiography be?
Submitted by princesskasren.
"Me." But I guess Kate Hepburn already did that.
Books, movies, music; what's in your top 5 right now?
Marie Antoniette: the movie and the book
Lee Miller: A Life
new Scissor Sisters
waiting for Borat and Running With Scissors
What food or drink do you love when it's cold out? (Recipes and recommendations, please!)
Port in a flask in the snow.
Do you listen to podcasts? Are there any you'd recommend?
Inspired by Alex.
Brini Maxwell on alt.npr
Which cartoon character best represents you?
Submitted by Know It All.
I recently realized that I am totally Stimpy, and my husband is Ren. Especially when it comes to Ren trying to go to sleep at night, and Stimpy talking his ear off. Happy Happy Joy Joy!
What's the last thing you crafted, constructed or created yourself?
I'm currently using the powers of OCD to cross stitch a design on a screen door. Super-challenging because I used to actually have horrible nightmares about counting the holes in screen doors when I was a kid. So I suppose it's therapy.
What's your musical horoscope? (Put your music player on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs that come up.) Inspired by Stephanie.
stepping out – fantastic plastic
machine
let me – sergio mendes
(ay caramba) it’s the samba –
peggy lee
there’s no home for you here
– white stripes
how we used to live – saint etienne
trust in me – siouxsie and
the banshees
acid 8000 – fatboy slim
que bueno balla usted –
ibrahim ferrer
what’d i say – johnny cash
& june
hot boys – missy elliott
What was the last game you played?
Tetris, old school. I know, I know.
We bought this enormous shelving unit at IKEA (which we will from here on out refer to as Kosovo, because we looked like we'd been through a war zone once we made it out of there). Anyway, I tried, I really tried, but the last steps are like putting a big puzzle together and things don't quite synch up and I really don't want to bother C with it. Besides, once it's all together, it has to be set upright. And it's like, at least 200 pounds.
So... I went through IKEA and their gum-snapping customer service rep and got an assembly guy to come out today. His name is Lyrix - ! Wow. I've got my sneaky little web cam handy so I can snap a shot or two of this hard-workin' man. This furniture is ridiculous, but it should solve my horrible storage problems, so I'm sure it'll all be worth it. Buyer beware! Go ahead and budget for the delivery and assembly lyrix.
Here's a video of his phone going off just when he was uprighting the behemoth.
